Best Video Production Companies in Chicago (2026)

Introduction

Chicago has one of the oldest commercial production communities in the US, built up around the agencies that have made the city's advertising for decades. The 12 companies below make commercials, branded films and documentary content in 2026, and range from director-led production houses to studios that handle creative, shoot and post under one roof.

The production market follows the agencies, and the agencies have had a busy year. Omnicom's acquisition of IPG at the end of 2025 reshaped the network offices that commission much of the city's work, and in September 2026 BBDO Chicago won Applebee's creative account, bringing it back to the Midwest after nearly a decade at Grey. Local capacity has grown as well. Forge Virtual Studios opened a 30,000 sq ft virtual production facility in Hanover Park in January 2026, and Quriosity Productions opened a dedicated food and beverage studio in Avondale in May.

Every company here has an active Chicago base in 2026. They were chosen for recent work, client rosters and standing in the local industry, including AICP Midwest membership where it applies. The list is in no order of merit, because the right partner depends on the brief, the budget and the kind of film you need.

The best video production companies in Chicago

1. STORY

Independent · West Loop · storyco.tv

STORY has made commercials out of Chicago since 1989, as a production and post-production company with a second office in Los Angeles. Executive producers Mark Androw and Cliff Grant run it from North Aberdeen Street, and it remains a fixture of the local scene: it was among the sponsors of the AICP Awards event in Chicago in November 2025.

The roster leans towards comedy and performance, with directors including Andy Richter, Jane Lynch, Kevin Smith and Ron Lazzeretti, alongside documentary director Ky Dickens. Its long agency relationships include Leo Burnett (now Leo), Ogilvy, Doner and Cramer-Krasselt. The website has not been updated for some time, so ask for a current reel by director.

2. ONE at Optimus

Partner-owned · River North · optimus.com

Optimus is a Chicago production and post-production studio with a second office in New York, covering editorial, colour, visual effects, design, audio mixing and finishing. ONE at Optimus is its directors' roster for commercials and branded content, with Dave Buehrle as executive producer. Optimus and ONE were top-tier sponsors of the 2025 AICP Awards in Chicago, and both are AICP Midwest members.

The practical advantage is having the shoot and the finish in one company, which shortens handovers on tight broadcast schedules. Earlier ONE work includes spots for the Illinois Office of Tourism directed by the duo Mark & Amanda. Brian Hrastar is managing director of the wider studio.

3. Dictionary Films

Cutters Studios group · Chicago · dictionaryfilms.com

Peter Grasse, formerly general manager and executive producer at Curious Film, launched Dictionary Films in 2016. Its first job was a Nike commercial shot in Tokyo, with Cutters handling editing, sound design and mix. It now works from Chicago as a hybrid production company with a network of around 20 directors, and it hired Madeline Saloga as senior producer in November 2025.

Director Ben Hansford's 2024 KitchenAid work shows the house strengths in product storytelling. Dictionary covers creative development, live action, print and experiential, which suits brands that want stills and film from the same shoot. Cutters Studios, the Chicago editorial and post group it sits alongside, had 2026 credits for Allstate, Liberty Mutual and Moen.

4. Quriosity Productions

Minority-owned independent · Avondale · quriosityproductions.com

Executive producer Qadree Holmes founded Quriosity in 2013, and it has become one of Chicago's specialists in food and beverage production. In May 2026 it opened Maes Studio on North Kedzie Avenue with director Michael Maes, with two stages, two full kitchens, motion-control camera work and refrigerated storage. Quriosity is an AICP Midwest member.

Clients include McDonald's, Kraft, Coca-Cola, Kellogg's, Tyson, Molson Coors, Bojangles and Denny's. Holmes has said clients want a production home that knows their brand's visual history, and the studio is set up for brands that shoot repeatedly through the year.

5. Strange Loop Studios

Independent · Fulton Market · strangeloop.tv

Strange Loop was founded in 2014 and works from concept to delivery: creative development, production, post-production and photography. Its line is "Make Moments. Not Ads.", and the work favours character and human stories over product demonstration.

Clients include Rocket Mortgage, Uber, Kohler, Carvana, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medical Mutual, P&G and Clif Bar. Directors on recent work include Mark Pallman, Kendall Goldberg and Brandon Dermer. It can work direct with brands or as a production partner to agencies.

6. Flightless

Independent · Fulton Market · flightless.tv

Flightless is a filmmaker-led studio that keeps creative, production and post together, with editing, colour, VFX, sound design, 2D and 3D animation and motion graphics in house. It reports more than 200 projects for over 50 brands, and it has added AI video and photo work to its services.

Recent work includes "Dream Building" for The Home Depot and "The Naysayer", a B2B commercial for commercetools. Other clients include United Airlines, A&W Restaurants, the Alzheimer's Association and Blackheart Rum. It suits brands without an agency that need a script as well as a shoot.

7. Hike Creative

Women-owned independent · Chicago · thisishike.com

Hike began as Third Wheel, founded by Megan St. John in 2012, and later rebranded as Hike Creative while keeping its production business. It represents ten directors, including Jack C. Newell, Teah Strandjord, Emily Friedman and Matt Byori.

The client list is strong on lifestyle and consumer brands: Lululemon, adidas ("No Limits"), Oatly, Polaroid, Poppi and Core Power, for which it made "Work Hard. Recover Harder." with Simone Biles. It also produced Chappell Roan's "Casual" music video.

8. One Tree Forest

Independent · West Town · onetreeforestfilms.com

One Tree Forest describes itself as a branded content studio with the sensibility of an agency, offering creative development, production, editing and VFX and animation from its studio on West Grand Avenue. Its #MoreThanMean campaign, on the harassment of women in sports media, won a Peabody Award in 2016 and was shortlisted at Cannes Lions.

Gatorade is a long-standing client, through the "Unstoppable" series of athlete comeback stories. Other clients include American Family Insurance, Exelon and Northern Trust. It is a good fit for purpose-led and documentary-style brand work.

9. Grand Union Creative

Independent · Chicago · grandunioncreative.com

Grand Union makes unscripted documentaries and brand films, mostly for large companies telling stories about their people and products. It is also developing an original docuseries, "The Purveyors".

Recent work includes "Made By Us", a documentary series for Kraft Heinz, and "The People Who Deliver" for Amazon. Other clients include Conagra, Dr. Scholl's, Exelon, Kone and Tate & Lyle. Corporate communications teams will find it more at home with long-form than with 30-second spots.

10. Banner Studios

Independent · Fulton Market · bannerstudios.com

Banner is a digital content studio covering strategy, production, editorial, design and animation, with a strong line in sports. Its work for Chicago teams includes a centennial documentary for the Blackhawks and the Chicago Bears' 2025 hype video.

Brand clients include BetterHelp (with Joakim Noah), Duluth Trading Company ("Dadcore"), Budweiser, Hilton, Purina Pro Plan and Cheez-It. The Chicago Cubs are also on its client list.

11. Putney

Black-owned independent · Chicago · putney.work

Putney launched in August 2022 as an independent production company spun out of the agency OKRP, led by Elena Robinson, OKRP's former head of production, with former executive creative director Aubrey Walker. It set a target of a 60% Black workforce and partners with BIPOC talent across production, design and entertainment.

It describes itself as an independent production agency covering content, production and brand experiences. Work includes "Block the Negativity" for the Chicago Sky. Its founders also created Black Shop Friday, a nonprofit supporting Black-owned Chicago businesses, which Target backed in 2021.

12. Lemonade Stand Films

Independent · Chicago · lemonadestandfilms.com

Executive producers Matt Abramson and PJ Fishwick founded Lemonade Stand Films with director Matt Miller, after 15 years of producing broadcast commercials and stunts. The company is an AICP Midwest member, and its directors are Matt Miller, Jake Kovnat and A. Cody Osborne.

Its projects run from edible tree installations to a large Rube Goldberg machine built for a livestreamed competition, and puppet character work with the team behind Robot Chicken. The founders also sold the comedy series "Teachers" to Paramount and executive produced it for three seasons, which helps on longer-form and entertainment briefs.

What to look for in a Chicago video production company

Decide first whether you need a director roster or a studio. Companies such as STORY, ONE at Optimus and Dictionary Films represent directors and assemble crews around each job, which is how most agency-led broadcast work is made. Studios such as Flightless, Strange Loop and Banner keep writers, editors and animators on staff, and they are often the better choice for brands commissioning directly.

Look for category experience. Food and beverage, sports, comedy and documentary each need different people and different kit, and Chicago has specialists in all of them. A food shoot benefits from kitchens and motion control on site, as at Quriosity's Maes Studio. A heavy VFX or virtual production job may suit one of the area's new LED volume stages.

Be clear about rights and costs before the shoot. Talent usage, music licensing and how long the film can run all affect the estimate, and the producer should list them in writing. Ask whether the job could qualify for Illinois's film production tax credit, and who would handle the paperwork.

Finally, agree how footage, cuts and feedback will move between the production company, the agency and the client. Commercial jobs generate terabytes of rushes and dozens of versions, and many delays come from people reviewing the wrong cut or waiting for files to download. A shared place for the latest edit, with a clear approvals record, saves days on most projects.

How Fabric helps video production teams

Fabric gives a production company one workspace for footage, edits, paperwork and client feedback, with AI search across all of it. The setup for commercial production is organised around jobs, with treatments, call sheets, rushes and cuts for each kept together.

Large media sits in Fabric's cloud drive, which streams files on demand so they take no local disk space. Editors can open heavy files without waiting for a full download, and shared team folders always hold the latest versions. There is more on this in how to edit video without filling your SSD.

Every uploaded video and audio file is transcribed and searchable, with clickable timestamps, so an interview line or a director's note can be found in seconds. Search works by meaning across scripts, stills and footage, and results jump to the right timestamp, which helps when someone asks where that b-roll went. The canvas works well for moodboards and storyboards, with Vimeo and YouTube references embedded beside stills.

For delivery, any cut or folder can be published as a web page and protected with a password. Link analytics shows when each named recipient opened a link and how long they watched. Clients can leave threaded comments through a shared link without signing up. Timestamped comments and drawing on video are coming soon through annotations.

Password protection and link analytics are included on Pro and Team plans. See plans for teams.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best video production company in Chicago?

It depends on the job. For agency-led broadcast work, STORY, ONE at Optimus and Dictionary Films have long director rosters. For food and beverage, Quriosity Productions opened a dedicated studio in 2026. For documentary-style brand films, One Tree Forest and Grand Union Creative are strong choices.

Do Chicago production companies handle post-production as well?

Many do. Optimus, STORY, Flightless and Strange Loop all offer editing and finishing alongside the shoot. For specialist editorial, colour or VFX, see our list of the best post-production companies in Chicago.

Which Chicago production companies specialise in food?

Quriosity Productions is the clearest specialist, with clients including McDonald's, Kraft and Coca-Cola and a purpose-built food studio in Avondale. Dictionary Films has also done notable product and kitchen work for KitchenAid.

Can a brand hire a Chicago production company without an agency?

Yes. Studios such as Flightless, Strange Loop, Banner Studios and One Tree Forest offer creative development and scripting as well as production, so a brand can brief them directly. Director-led companies tend to work mostly through agencies.

Where are Chicago's production companies based?

Many are in and around Fulton Market and the West Loop, including STORY, Strange Loop, Flightless and Banner Studios. Optimus is in River North, One Tree Forest in West Town and Quriosity's studio in Avondale.

Related lists

Video production companies in other cities: New York · Los Angeles · London · Atlanta · Toronto

More in Chicago: Creative agencies · Advertising agencies · Content studios · Post-production · Editing · Animation

Run your production company on Fabric: Fabric for video editors · Fabric for commercial production · Best video asset management tools